RBC Capital Markets has a "sector perform" recommendation on Duet Groupand a 12-month price target of $2.50 a share after the 2014 financial year result fell in line with expectations.

RBC Capital Markets has a "sector perform" recommendation on Santos after "a good profit", highlighted by an unexpected increase in dividend to 20¢ a share. It has a price target on the stock of $16 a share.

Hartleys Research upgraded Macmahon Holdingsto a "buy" with a 12-month price target of 25¢ a share as the industry continues to face difficult operating conditions.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has posted a "buy" recommendation onMortgage Choice, with a price target of $3.40 a share. The bank says Mortgage Choice has delivered a solid result with a double digit earnings per share (EPS) growth continuing.

Currencies

Jim Vrondas, chief currency and payment strategist for Asia-Pacific at OzForex, notes AUD/EUR has been a big mover up around 2 per cent, in just a few weeks. It might be due for some consolidation around this 70 level but I still favour more upside over the longer term, he said. He adds that AUD/NZD has been another big mover jumping towards 1.12. "It now looks to have found a solid base now between 1.05 and 1.1000 and I would be surprised to see that move below this level," Vrondas says.

The Australian dollar was trading at US92.95¢ not long after 5am on Tuesday morning, down from US93.17¢ late on Monday.

The US dollar rose to the strongest in almost a year against the euro amid speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in 2015. The dollar appreciated 0.4 per cent to $US1.3193 per euro at 1:57pm New York time, after touching $US1.3184, the strongest level since September 9. The greenback was little changed at 103.97 yen after reaching 104.49, the highest since January 23. The euro dropped 0.3 per cent to 137.18 yen.

Commodities

Australia's most lucrative export,iron ore, has extended its losses after plunging to a two-month low. On Monday, iron ore measured out of the Tainjin port in China fell a further 1 per cent to $US89.20. The bulk metal has slumped more than 32 per cent this year, with fresh concerns about China's growth triggering the latest fall.

WTI for October delivery declined 30 US cents, or 0.3 per cent, to close at $US93.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for October settlement rose 36 US cents, or 0.4 per cent, to end the session at $US102.65 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Gold fell 0.3 per cent at $US1277.19 an ounce by 1:52pm EDT. US gold futures closed down $US1.30 at $US1278.90 an ounce. Electronic trading was halted for four hours on Monday due to a technical glitch.

Corn on the Chicago Board of Tradehas tumbled 20 per cent since the end of May, to around $3.715 a bushel, and soybeans are down 30 per cent to around $10.42 a bushel. Prospects of bumper harvests sent Chicago futures tumbling into bear markets last month, two years after a drought eroded output and sparked the highest prices ever.

United States

The S&P 500 was trading 0.5 per cent higher at 1998.14 on Monday afternoon, having pared early gains that took the index past 2000 points for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 86.99 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 17,088.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4 per cent to 4557.64, the highest level since March 2000.

The S&P 500 passed the psychologically important mark shortly after 10am eastern time to a record of 2001.95, before paring gains to close at 1,997.92.

"This number, 2000, is a pretty significant number from psychological and financial points," Schaeffer's Investment Research senior equity analyst Joe Bell said. "Perhaps we might reach a little bit overbought status, and it looks like the index is going to take a breather there."

The S&P 500 has risen almost 100 points since its low during trading on August 7, climbing on nine of 12 days to erase a 3.9 per cent drop that began on July 24. The US equity benchmark has advanced for the past three weeks and more than $US900 billion has been added to the value of American equities.

Europe

European stocks rose to their highest level this month, following two weekly increases, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signalled policy makers are ready to add stimulus. In Europe, the FTSE 100 was largely flat at 6775.25, while the CAC 40 jumped 2.1 per cent, or 89.31 points to 4342.11. Germany's DAX was up 1.83 per cent, or 170.97 points, at 9510.14].

German business confidence declined for a fourth month, reflecting a faltering euro-area economy that Draghi says might need more stimulus. The Ifo institute's business climate index, based on a survey of 7000 executives, fell to 106.3 in August from 108 in July. Economists predicted a drop to 107, according to the median of 39 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

French President Francois Hollande was forced into the third major overhaul of his ministerial team in two years after a dispute over hauling the economy out of stagnation prompted the government's collapse. Prime Minister Manuel Valls presented his resignation to the president after Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg used a weekend interview with Le Monde to demand a change in policy direction including fiscal stimulus to bolster growth.

Asia

Tokyo stocks rebounded to a 3-1/2-week high on Monday, led by exporters and others as the yen struck a seven-month low against the dollar after a gathering of central bankers underscored the diverging path of Japanese and US interest rates. The benchmark Nikkei average climbed 0.5 per cent to 15,613.25 points, its highest closing level since July 31.

What happened yesterday

The Australian sharemarket retreated from six-year highs on Monday, as a plunge in the iron ore price weighed on miners and several poorer-than-expected earnings results convinced investors to take a breather. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipped 10.7 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5632.8, posting its first loss in eight ­sessions. The broader All Ordinaries inched 7.7 points, or 0.1 per cent, lower to 5632.8.

Among the sectors, materials were the biggest drag, down 1.2 per cent, while financials slipped 0.2 per cent. The two global miners and all of the big four banks were down on Monday.